In British English, 1. Both these options are fine. 2. I wouldn't use words like 'savvy' until you have a good working knowledge of the language. Slang has a tone of its own and some slang words are unsuitable for some occasions. 3. Is

In British English I can't think of circumstances in which you could say I read that book before . I read means at some moment in the past I did it. You could say I read that book before going on holiday. I have read that book before would be

Certainly you can. Or 'His shoes are badly torn'. Remember people would normally understand this as meaning that the uppers were ripped, and certainly not that the soles were worn.

I feel rather cheap about buying you something as ephemeral as flowers. - I don't think one often feels cheap about something. It's clumsy. You've bought the flowers How is it clumsy? Would you consider a sentence like "I feel

I agree with a lot of this, Montur, but we mustn't forget the very strong plural influences which can build up in a sentence; they can make even the most careful of writers stray. What do you feel about this from More's Utopia?: It is

My understanding is that if we use " by this Friday", we MUST use present perfect instead of simple present, because it's about a period of time, not a specific time. Am I right about this concept? Can we also use simple present? To

Raen, Thank you for saying that. Don't worry; I was sure there was a misunderstanding somewhere. Best wishes, Thomas

Hi Velimir, Thank you very much for this. I think Swan is putting learners off using it in this way, because there are times when it is inappropriate, and it's very difficult to give a list of them, and 'was able' will be correct in

Hi, I'm not sure which word fits this sentence better - "misdeed" or "misdemeanor"? "The principal sat quietly behind his desk, waiting for the child to confess his worst misdeeds / misdemeanors ." Do you have

" If we haven't received the document by this Friday, we will give your manager a call." Is this wrong? I think it should be " If we don't received the document by this Friday, we will give your manager a call." ."